Autonomous vehicles include one or more devices for detecting a scene surrounding the vehicle. The vehicle autonomously controls its steering, braking, acceleration, etc., based on the detected scene. As one example, the vehicle may include one or more image sensors, e.g., near-field cameras.
The vehicle may include an illuminator for illuminating the field of view of the image sensor. The illuminator may emit light that is not visible to the human eye, e.g., infrared light. The illuminator includes a light source that generates the light, e.g., a light emitting diode (LED). The illuminator may also include a lens that protects the light source and other components of the illuminator from obstructions, e.g., dirt, dust, mud, rain, snow, etc. Light is emitted from the light source through the lens to the field of view of the image sensor.
Current methods are known for determining obstructions on lens of the image sensor and cleaning the identified obstructions. However, obstructions on the lens of the illuminator decreases the amount of generated light that reaches the field of view and degrades image quality. There remains in an opportunity to account for obstructions on the lens of the illuminator.